I hate this game.
(but i'll be back next week to tell you I love it again)
i probably haven't played long enough to get to hating it, but there have definitely been times when i looked ahead in my life and knew i would probably always suck. but that passes pretty quickly because i still enjoy it and there is so much room to improve.
and now that i've actually had some intensive practice and instruction (by my standards of course), i'm still holding out hope i'll make it down to the 80s one of these years.
i have good friend who was a prof of mine who got so frustrated several years ago he dropped his bag, beat several clubs against a tree and walked away and that was the last time he played.
Jesus god, I played on Friday afternoon (in 104f degree heat) and just exploded on the back. Totally lost my swing, put two balls in the water on a shortish par 3, ending the hole with a 9. NINE. So frustrating. Anyhew, I played (supposedly) the best public course in the state of IL--Aldeen in exotic Rockford. $35 with cart, well worth the c. 1 hour drive from ORD. Interesting facet I hadn't seen before: their website has a flyover for each hole, optimized for smart phones. Pretty cool, if you aren't familiar with a track--could use some yardage indicators, though.
Played the Keystone ranch course yesterday.
Pretty fun! /blog
Played Eagle Vines in Napa on Friday. Johnny Miller designs courses much like he announces on TV - it's obvious he knows what he's doing / talking about, but he can sort of be a dick sometimes.
It's a very difficult course, especially with the afternoon winds. From the tips: 75.4 / 140 slope. Blues are 73.7 / 135.
I only made one putt all day over 5 feet and my chipping was god awful, so despite hitting the ball pretty well I carded a season-worst 82, although on most courses that's like a 77 or 78.
The first hole is an easy par 5, so naturally it's followed by a 499 yard par 4 from the tips, dog-leg left with a creek along the entire left side leading to a narrow, tricky green. Take your bogie and move on.
This photo doesn't do it justice, but the green on #4 is just ridiculous. I've seen many 4 putts here.
Tee shot from #5 - love the view...
#10...
#16...
![]()
love that shot of #5 tahoej
"I do look like the Arrow shirt man, I did lace up my skates professionally, and I did do a fabulous job finishing my muffin."
My last 2 tournaments have been up and down and all around.
80-70-72
77-68
Played tournaments 5 out of 6 weekends with no practice in between tournaments. Looking forward to some time off and getting some practice in. No tournaments until US Mid-Am qualifying in early August.
wow....that is some serious golf. I don't have the ability to focus long enough to ever score like you...color me jealous. have you ever tried to qualify for an Open or attempted Q school?
EDIT: Has anyone on here ever tried to qualify for an Open or attempted Q school?
"I do look like the Arrow shirt man, I did lace up my skates professionally, and I did do a fabulous job finishing my muffin."
I've tried for the US Open many times. Only getting through the local qualifying once (there are local and sectional qualifying). I did caddy in the US Open once for a friend, pretty cool experience.
I did Q-school once back in 2001. Didn't make it out of 1st stage. That was my last pro event. Got reinstated as an amateur in 2004.
i don't know how many of you wear pants when you play -- i usually wear rei convertibles and end up playing in the shorts when i'm in oregon.
but this club has a dress code and lucky for me, my wife bought me a pair of izod golf pants before we left. i had no hopes of playing golf down here and i didn't even bother trying them on, but they were nice and light and i threw them in the suitcase anyway.
turns out they are some of the best activewear pants i've ever had. i did have the option of wearing nice bermuda shorts, but i'm terrified of the sun down here having been severely burned more than once. in any case, i don't know the model, but they're fantastic, they're super light and flexible with mesh ventilation openings above the back pockets and they look great. they were also super cheap.
Something about the wrinkle in your forehead tells me there's a fit about to get thrown
And I never hear a single word you say when you tell me not to have my fun
It's the same old shit that I ain't gonna take off anyone.
and I never had a shortage of people tryin' to warn me about the dangers I pose to myself.
Patterson Hood of the DBT's
Never turned pro , back in the eighties only the top 20-30 guys on tour made any money .
I qualified for a couple us ams , a us mid am and been 1st or 2nd alternate a bunch of times .
I didn't play golf from age 23-33 it took 2 years to become at all competitive again .
I didn't touch a club for all of '09 + '10 played maybe 20 round last year .
So this year I figure I'm gona work at it and see if I can still play .
Three months in , I just started to hit it good , going to the gym working out , shot game is getting sharp again and what do you know .
It appears I have what is termed a sports hernia , fucking sucks .
It doesn't hurt to swing but I'm sore after practicing and playing .
I'm gona see if I can make it through the season , then get fixed before ski season .
This whole getting old shit is pissing me off .
Plum Creek ended up charging my card prematurely and for twice the amount it was supposed to cost. That said, I ended up making an 11am at Overland for Friday. This will be my first Donald Ross so I'm actually looking forward to it as much as Plum Creek.
I'm about to find out the design differences of Ross and Dye and, to be honest, I'm pretty excited. Should I not be? I see he's designed a shit-ton of courses...
The best things in life aren't things.
Anyone wanna critique my swing? I'm stoked when I break 100 so go easy on me bros... was using a 7 or 8i on both of these shots. And the angle on the second one is kinda shitty (as is the iphone video quality after youtube gets done with it):
Not that bad for a guy that's happy breaking 100, I've seen MUCH worse. First thing is posture. You need to stick your ass out more and raise your chin up. That will help with your rounded back. Next, you have too much weight on your heels, try to get more weight on the balls of your feet. Work on basic fundamentals before making actual swing changes. Some simple setup changes can improve your swing. Try taking some face on video next time.
Bookmarks